The Red String of Fate
by CookieRhyme
Summary: A new transfer student saved a life of a girl who was trapped in a burning high school building. Their love builds up from there, but... (LenxMiku) (LenxRin and LenxLuka, but mostly LenxMiku)
1. Chapter 1 (Miku)

April 30th, 2009

It was a normal sunny afternoon in St. Hannabeth High School. Girls gossiping, boys flirting, stolen sandwiches in the cafeteria, some lovemaking in the library… It was all ordinary.

At least, all ordinary in the eyes of Hatsune Miku, the 15-year old tealette meganekko. She just entered the gates and she can already hear the whispering and gossiping of girls in her grade. It was rather annoying, but she can't help but hear the gossips.

"Hey, did you hear? There's a new guy transferring in this school. I heard he was cute!"

"Really? What section is he in?"

"5-D, I think."  
>"Ooh, I'm gonna check it out later!"<p>

Having heard enough, she stomped off towards her classroom. She just couldn't stand gossipers, though that bit about a new student gave her something to look forward to since she herself was in section 5-D herself.

Miku is one of the top ten, placing at top two in her academic standing. She studies and works so hard for it, that her attitude started to become almost tsundere-like. This caused most people to back away from her unless they needed help with homework or lessons. Sadly, because of her "academics first, friends later," attitude, she tends to get a few friends.

As she climbed the final flight of stairs that led to the hallway her classroom was in, she saw a yellow-haired boy looking around, as if he was confused. His height was a head taller than Miku's, and her yellow hair were styled in spikes that resembled the ends of a banana.

Miku simply stood there. Was he the guy that those gossiping girls were talking about? She wasn't sure, but the rumors were spot on: She hasn't seen him before, and he had a cute face along with the yellow hair.

It didn't take long before the yellow-hair noticed her and approached her. "Hello, can you help me?" he asked. Normal girls would squeal at his rather gentle voice, but not Miku, who kept a straight face. "What is it?"

"I'm looking for 5-D classroom."

"Oh, it's right there," Miku pointed at the room at the end of the hallway, near another flight of stairs.

"Thanks!" The yellow haired boy said before walking off.

Miku felt awkward, totally awkward when she found herself walking with him. The yellow haired boy noticed this as well. "Uhm… What room are you?"

"5-D, same as you."

"Oh, heehee," the yellow haired boy chuckled. "Guess we're both late for classes."

"Yeah, I g-"

What.

Miku stopped and looked down on her watch. Holy lemons, bananas, and fruitcakes, she IS late! "Ehh!? Oh no, Gakupo-sensei will lecture me again!" and with that, Miku zoomed for the room leaving the yellow haired boy laughing as he walked at a snail's pace.

* * *

><p>The door opened and there appeared the twin-ponytailed meganekko. "Sorry, I'm late!"<p>

And everyone, including Prof. Gakupo turned to see the meganekko. "Ah, Miku. Take your seat, we're about to have a seat work."

A seat work?!

Having one such means that she missed the lecture part of the class… Good thing she reviewed the night before and wouldn't have too much trouble today. Miku then sighed as she walked to her seat, which was close to the window. The seat to her right has been unoccupied for some time, and she never really notices it nor cares about who would sit next to her.

That is, until today.

"Okay class, before we start, I'd like to introduce-"

Suddenly, a violent shaking shook the classroom, no, the whole building and everyone dropped to the floor.

"What is this, an earthquake?"

It only took a matter of seconds before it was over. The P.A. system goes on and announces:

"There was an explosion at chemistry laboratory 5, all students, please evacuate the premises. I repeat,"

Chemistry Lab 5 was right above their classroom.

"Alright, everyone, I need you to fall in line and evacuate in an orderly manner!" Gakupo ordered the students.

They would have stood and walked in file… That is, if another explosion shook the building and sent the room above crashing down to them.

Miku raised her arms and screamed as the ceiling dropped on her, and her world went black.

* * *

><p>Outside the classroom, Len was about to knock on the door and be introduced to his new class when he was thrown against the wall around the same time the ceiling crashed on the classroom.<p>

He had hit his head and instantly passed out.

* * *

><p>When Len came to, he was being treated inside an ambulance outside the burning school. He shook his head and fluttered his eyes. "W-What happened? Where am I?"<p>

"Something exploded in your school and started a fire," the nurse who was treating him said. "What?! Bu-"

"It's alright, all of your classmates and friends made it out," she said.

"Oh…" Len sighed in relief.

It took a moment before the nurse was finished dressing his wounds and she let him go free. Len wandered around the crowds and saw the fire trucks trying to put out the fire.

He looked up to see the school, or rather, half the school in burning state.

"But one of my student is still in there!"

Len heard the shout and weaved through the crowds of students to see Gakupo-sensei talking to a firefighter. "Miku is still in there, passed out! I know I saw her right before the ceiling-"

"You have nothing to worry about, Mister Gakupo," the firefighter said.

Miku..?, Len thought.

"Just make sure you save her: she has two teal pony tails and wears glasses!"

Twin pony tails, wears glasses…

"_Oh no! Gakupo-sensei will lecture me again._"

"Hey, kid! What are you doing, don't go in there! It's not-"

Without a thought, Len quickly rushed inside the front door of the school building, ignoring the firefighter's calls and warning.

* * *

><p>"Miku! Miku, are you in here?!"<p>

Len shouted through the burning hallways. He covered his mouth with wet handkerchief whilst occasionally shattering window glasses so as to let the smoke escape outside.

He moved through the classrooms as some hallways were blocked off, and for a second he thought he was playing a real life maze. Except this was burning and any time something could happen that could pass him out, or worse, kill him.

Why'd he get in here to save that girl, anyway?

He had to put those thoughts aside for now, he already went in and he knows there's no turning back.

It took awhile before he finally reached the floor where their classroom was located. He looked up to the room signs.

1-D. 2-D. 3-D. 4-D.

And there it was, 5-D, right at the end of the hallway. He made a sprint for it, ignoring what explosion and fire that happened as he ran. He quickly kicked open the door and there she was, lying under a rock, her glasses cracked but not broken, and her eyes closed.

She was still passed out, and she needed help immediately.

Quickly, Len moved to her and moved the rock out of her side, before shaking her. "Miku? Miku!"

Miku only moaned. It was then he saw her bruises right at her chest and her body, obvious by the tears and scratches on her uniform.

For some reason, he found her cute instead of pitiful.

Wait, what was he thinking? He had to get themselves out of this school hell!

He tucked Miku's glasses in his pocket as he carried Miku on his back in a backpack carry, weaving her arms around his neck whilst he carried her legs.

Len now made his way back the way he came, though he had to make a de-tour halfway through his trip: The 1st floor lobby had been completely in flames and were now almost collapsing.

Luckily, he found an emergency exit in the 2nd floor, so he ran his way there.

He rammed the door open just as another explosion behind them pushed the couple outside the school. As they flew in the air and about to land in the pavement below, Len took a last look at Miku as he started to pass out yet again.

He only had one question in his mind as his world went black:

Did he save her?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**SOOOOOO RHYME ASKED ME TO ADD THIS A/N HE'S SO SHY IKR AND I'M LIKE YEAAAA**

**Rhyme (Kitty Len) wrote this absolutely fabulous chapter and I (Hana Okita) am going to write the next chapter and this will go on _until the story_ ends. So there. Reviews, please, if you like this! (and praise rhyme too don't read our profile we're literally fighting there)**

**-Hana**

**Please take your liberty of time to read our profile. It's basically... Awesome. xD**

**Soo yeah, here's the first chapter of "How NOT to fall in love." Cliche title, I know. But... **

**Well, just look forward to it and don't forget to review and fav! This chapter is actually done by Hana-chan, not me :P**

**-Rhymekyun (Kitty Len)**


	2. Chapter 2 (Len)

April 30th, 2009

Len stared at the towering St. Hannabeth High School, a look of obvious discomfort plastered onto his face. His father came out of the car and patted his shoulder in an assuring sort of way. Len helpfully switched his glower to his father, some strands of his blond hair falling onto his face.

"It's okay, Len … you just got to make new friends and all … it's just like any other school you transferred to, Len. Maybe … you'll fall in love." His father added, wiggling his eyebrows as he tilted his head towards some giggling girls. "Look at them girls. They are already fawning over you, Len, and you haven't even stepped into the school. I can see a whole new start for you." His father said dramatically, drawing a semicircle with his hands. Len snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, right." He looked at the group of girls and raised an eyebrow. One of them blushed heavily and fainted. Len was painfully aware of his father chuckling behind him. His father clapped a hand on his shoulder harshly, and Len flinched, instinctively backing away from the supposed danger.

"What did I say about the girls? Told you."

"You and your work and your perverted words …" Len mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately, his father heard it and chuckled some more. No unfortunately for Len, his father said nothing and hopped into the car, looking at Len from the window. "Good luck, sonny! Remember what I said!" Those were the last words of wisdom from his father before the car drove away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

Len mumbled incoherent curses under his breath, coughing as he inhaled the blasted dust. Ah well, he thought grumpily as he walked into the school, I guess I'm stuck here for probably the rest of the year.

A group of girls giggled as he walked past them.

Len sighed. This year is going to be horrible, he decided.

* * *

><p>As Len took in the scenery of St. Hannabeth High School, he realized with horror that <em>he didn't even know where the bloody class was. <em>Oops. There are only a few ways to find out. One, ask a teacher. Definitely a no, that one, because Len was … well, shy. Two, ask the principal. No. Three, ask the students. Len looked at his schoolmates. Probably the best way out of three, he decided, but if it meant asking those giggling girls Len would just find the classroom by himself thank you very much.

"Excuse me, but are you having trouble at finding your class?"

A voice snapped Len out of his reverie. He spun around to look at the girls. Painted nails, make up, shiny lipstick. At one glance Len knew what kind of girls these are, his sister kept babbling about how annoying those girls were, like _they keep sneering about my lip-gloss, like seriously? I can wear what I want, Len, don't you agree with that? _No way in hell Len would talk to them. No. Way. In. Hell. He slowly backed away, in case they started lashing out at him with their perfectly manicured nails.

"Uh, no, thank you? I think … I think I know where it is." Len said doubtfully, averting his gaze to a rather interesting pot plant. He could feel all five girls' glares boring into his body, and he certainly didn't like it. So there is only one-way to get away: run. Len cleared his throat and tried his best to look cool and collected, not panicked and lame (sorry I couldn't think of a word) and addressed the girls. "So I'll be going now. Hi. I mean, bye. Yeah, bye. Whatever. Bye." The girls didn't bother him anymore, so he started jogging to the school halls in hopes of finding his class.

* * *

><p>Len peered around the completely unfamiliar school corridor, trying to find class 5-D. After a minute of frantic searching, he found his timetable and stumbled about aimlessly. Once he walked into the girl's toilet by accident. Len was scarred by the incident. Literally, since he could still feel his arms aching from all of the water buckets and bags thrown at him. (Oh the irony)<p>

Len turned around, finding a girl staring at him. She didn't acknowledge him, though, so Len walked closer to her. She didn't back away either. She looked like … she was in a daze. Len decided that he would speak more gently, because this girl looked like she could punch him any moment if he snapped at her.

"Hello, can you help me?"

The girl blinked, and Len found it quite weird that she didn't react at all to his gentle voice. But whatever, Len doesn't care. She parted her lips. "What is it?"

"I'm looking for 5-D classroom." Len managed.

"Oh, it's right there." The girl helpfully pointed to a classroom, all the while keeping a poker face. Len is starting to admire this girl now. She is simply too cool.

"Thanks!" He said, strolling to the classroom. He looked down and found the girl from before walking beside him, her jaw tightened like she felt awkward. Len raised an eyebrow at this. "Uhm … what room are you?"

"5-D, same as you."

Len chuckled. "Guess we're both late for classes."

"Yeah, I g-"

The girl stopped dead and looked at her watch, looking so scared and panicked Len actually felt sorry for her. "Ehh!? Oh no, Gakupo-sensei will lecture me again!" She dashed off, totally leaving Len behind. Len laughed, but stopped as a purple-haired teacher approached him.

"I think you might be Mr. Kagamine Len?" The teacher asked, looking at a clipboard. Len nodded in response, and the teacher tilted his head in the direction of the class the girl ran off to. "You're in 5-D, am I right?" Len nodded again. The teacher smiled warmly and extended a hand. "I'm Mr. Gakupo, your teacher from now onwards." He paused as the two exchanged a handshake. "May you please stand outside the classroom and wait until I introduce you to your classmates?" Len nodded for the third time and Mr. Gakupo offered him another smile, before heading to his classroom with Len tailing behind him.

* * *

><p>It stank.<p>

That was the first thing Miku thought as she woke up.

She's not dead?

Miku shakily stood up. Bad mistake. Smoke was curling everywhere, and her eyes watered. Miku coughed and fell down, a sharp shard of glass ripping her skirt as well cutting her leg. Miku winced, and fished out her handkerchief, covering her face with it. Would be better if I had water, Miku thought desperately. A pile of rubble fell onto the floor beside her, barely missing her thin body. Miku tried to stand up, but another part of the celling fell on her leg, binding her to the floor.

It chokes.

What chokes?

The smoke chokes.

Is someone going to save her?

"Miku! Miku, are you in here?!" Miku groaned, making out a faint outline of a boy.

She didn't miss the whiff of the scent belonging to bananas, though.

* * *

><p>May 1st, 2009<p>

Len opened his eyes. Is he in his room now? A white celling greets him. No, the celling of his room is yellow, not white. So … where was he? Len tried to sit up, but a voice prevented him from doing so.

"Ah, you're awake? You've done a good job, sir, saving that girl over there." A giggle. "You're in the hospital, if you were wondering." The voice continued. Len tried to sit up for the second time. "No, no! You stay down; I'll get your medicine for you._ Do not move until then_." A door was closed, leaving Len staring at the turning fan. He shifted his head, and took in his surroundings. A blast of cold wind hit his face like it wanted a hug, and Len pulled the covers higher in hopes of keeping himself warm.

He could hear steady breathing from the other side. Probably the girl from before, Len thought. Then he noticed that he didn't even know her name. Perhaps she didn't know his. So he saved a complete stranger. Well, maybe she isn't a complete stranger, since she helped him find his classroom, but still. Len doesn't know her name.

The door was opened, and the clacking of heels rang through the room. A face floated above Len's, and he jolted in surprise. The face giggled, brown strands of hair falling into its face. A hand pulled Len up, and settled him against the soft pillows propped against the headboard. Now Len could see a girl with brown hair standing in front of him, giggling all the while as she prepared his medicine.

"I'm Azuki, your nurse." The girl introduced dismissively, hurrying around a tray. She poured water into a glass and placed the tray in front of Len. "Eat." She ordered, gesturing at the plate of medicine. She babbled on as Len ate his medicine. "I have a friend here, she's called Matcha, and she's the sweetest girl on the whole planet Earth!" Azuki sighed happily, and Len nearly choked on his medicine. "Anyway, do you have a special relation with that girl over there?" She tilted her head to Len's right, and Len turned, for the first time he saw the girl without her glasses.

She looked … angelic. Her chest was rising up and down steadily, her lips parting every time she exhaled. She looked like Sleeping Beauty.

Azuki noticed him staring, and between giggles she waved a hand in Len's face, snapping him into reality. Len blinked once, twice, and turned away, his face flushing with embarrassment. Azuki laughed softly, covering her mouth elegantly so that the laugh came out muffled. "A-anyways," said Azuki as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "You two look like you're … dating, or something. Oh, it's okay if you don't want to tell me!" She added, as Len covered his face. "She's in perfect condition, if you were wondering." She chirped sweetly, picking up the tray. "Just knocked out, and inhaled some smoke and all, but she's still fine." Azuki skipped to the door, her brown hair flying behind her. "Bye, Len!" With that, she closed the door.

Len blinked bemusedly, and it was after a second or so did he come back to his senses. Then he realized: he didn't ask the nurse – Azuki – the teal-haired girl's name. Whoops. Len scratched his cheek. Though … he remembered something like Miku … Len shrugged. He could ask her after she woke up.

Len slid off his bed and headed to the bed where the girl lay.

* * *

><p>Miku's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at the white celling confusedly. It was so white it's blinding. Wait, why is she here? She was in a fire just a second ago, and then she passed out, and then … and then … is Miku kidnapped by someone?!<p>

"I see you're awake."

Miku painfully turned her head and a face stared back at her. She scurried away from the face. It was painfully familiar, though … Miku gasped, her hand shooting to her forehead. Oh. It's that guy from earlier.

"Hi." She croaked. The boy offered her a glass of water. Miku grabbed it and started gulfing it down greedily. She turned to the boy. "Why are you here?" She asked, hoping that she didn't sound rude.

"I was watching you sleep. It's fascinating." The blond boy mumbled.

"Did you get hurt in the fire or something?" Miku asked, eyeing his bandages suspiciously. He nodded simply.

"What is your name?"

The boy looked up, shock filling his cerulean eyes. He recovered a moment later, though. "Len. Kagamine Len."

Miku nodded, and extended a hand. "Hatsune Miku."

Len shook her hand, looking satisfied.

* * *

><p>March 5th, 2009<p>

Miku's mother gripped on her arm, helping her down the stairs. "Are you sure you're okay, Miku? Need anything?" She asked, concerned for her daughter. Miku shook her head, smiling.

"It's all right, mom. I'm in perfect condition, see?" She twirled in a circle gracefully and smiled at her mother. "You can just go to your meeting, mom. Our house is just, like, a few blocks away from here. It's safe."

Her mother nodded, walking away while giving her daughter worried glances over her shoulder. Miku sighed, smiling, and shook her head, walking to the opposite direction.

She didn't know that Len was watching her from a tree.

* * *

><p>Len looked at Miku's figure dancing and skipping all the way from the hospital. What has gotten into her today? Len shrugged, pushing it away. Miku … looked quite pretty without glasses, just like the day in the hospital, when Len watched her sleep (like a creep). Though she looked much better awake.<p>

He walked out from the tree and towards Miku.

"Come on, we've got a lot to catch up with the class."

* * *

><p>Chapter 2 End<p>

**A/N: IT'S HANA OKITA! (yay) Rhyme wrote the first chapter, and I wrote this second one (though the last line was by Rhyme) and this format will go on. Yep. Reviews, please!**

**-Hana**


	3. Chapter 3 (Len)

It's been a week since Hatsune Miku and I woke up.

Investigations say the explosion on the chemistry lab was an accident, but some people disagree: the explosion was too big to be an accident. It almost took out our building.

We shouldn't worry about it so much, Gakupo-sensei said.

After a week of recovery, we returned to the school to find it still being rebuilt. Luckily, there was still another building close to it that, thankfully, did not get caught by the explosion.

It was the old high school academic building. Maybe old was a little too kind since the building looked totally abandoned. Word on the 'net says it was supposed to be demolished and renovated into a gym (did I forget that our school doesn't have a gym), but the incident happened so it was postponed…

Instead, it was cleaned up and used as our temporary school building.

Me and Miku walked side to side inside the new building. There were still awkward moments and dead air between us, so I decided to give her some space and let her recollect her thoughts or something. I mean, it's not that easy trying to recover from such trauma…

So we didn't talk to each other for about three days.

Three days later, dismissal time.

The bell rang and I quickly got up and took my bag. On my way outside the building, Miku approached me and finally talked to me.

"C-Can I walk home w-with y-you?" she nervously asked.

Why was she so nervous?

"Shouldn't I be asking that? It's kinda awkward to hear that from a girl," I chuckled. To my surprise, she blushed. "I was just kidding," I said. "It's alright, come on."

She walked with me but the whole time on our way back, she never said a word. Oh, her house is just a rock's throw away from ours, so there was really no problem with us going home together.

We ended up at the train station, where we had to take a train going north. Bought our tickets, took our seat (we sat facing each other), and still there was that awkward silence. I decided to start the conversation.

"Uhh, you're such a shy girl, you know that."

Way to start a conversation, Len. Miku blushed and looked away. "I-Is that so…"

"I mean, you're so cute when you wear those glasses." Okay, that's better.

"T-Thanks…" she said.

I sighed. "Geez, no need to be so nervous, Miku-chan."

"N-No, it's just that, I wanted to say something."

"Well, we got about twenty minutes on the train, and there's practically no one around, so you can say what you want."

Miku played with her fingers. "Well… I wanted to thank you… for saving me. I'm pretty sure I would've died right there and then if you hadn't arrived."

I smiled at that. "No problem. I just did what I thought was right."

She then looked up to me and said "Is there any way that I can return the favor?"

"Eh..?"

Before I could even think of what to say, Miku leaned really close to me, her face about an inch away from mine. I could feel the heat of her blush as I looked into her almost-crying eyes.

"I can… I can give you my… v.. vir.."

Vir..? Wait, she doesn't mean..!

My cheeks went red and I started to push her off gently. "Miku-chan! Wait, that's not what I- Mikuuu!"

Seriously? She would go that far? Well I guess it meant a lot but still I'm not kinda person…

..or was I?

As I tried to pushed her off, I felt her arms and body were soft. It's as soft as sponge, and it made me blush harder. Thankfully, Miku calmed down and went back to her seat.

"Okay, I'll think about it, but I don't want to go that far," I said, almost lecturing her. Thankfully, there were no other passengers around, else some people would be looking at us. "I'm not a total pervert, you know."

Miku nodded, her cheeks slowly going back to normal. She seemed to breathe a little normal now too. "I didn't know you were such a kind guy. Most of the gossips I hear say that you were a perverted guy, had different girlfriends, and had… made love with some of them…"

My jaw almost dropped. "Haa..?" Some of those rumors were true, I mean, yeah, I did have some girlfriends before but I made love with none of them! Geez, why does rumors have to be so… twisted.

"And they also said," Miku continued, but I raised my hand and stopped her there.

"Hold it right there, from what I heard, you weren't the type to listen to rumors."

Miku gulped and looked away. "There was so little everyone knows about you, so I had to depend on rumors for the time being."

I see. That's understandable.

"They also said you were the flirtish type," Miku said. I'm pretty sure I heard a little annoyed tone there…

"Well… That… I, umm…"

"So it's true?" Miku looked at me. This time, her face was that of someone who was so serious like she's confronting me about having another girl.

Before I could answer, the train driver announced something. "Yasogawa station. This is the last station in the rail line. All passengers must vacate the train. I repeat…"

Miku and I picked up our bags and went outside. We made our way to the street, and started conversing more about ourselves. Despite showing a more calm and nice attitude now, there were points in our conversation that she was obviously irritated and annoyed. Guess she doesn't like guys like me.

And here I go again with the assumptions. These have gotten me less and less friends the more I assume.

"Hey, thanks for saving me back there," she repeated with a more calm and mature tone. "I really mean it."

"I told you, it's no problem."

"And…" Miku punched me lightly on my chest. "Thanks for not being such a pervert."

I chuckled. "Did you really think I was going to do it with you?"

"What, you think I- Ugh, you know what, nevermind."

We both laughed at that. I guess there's still THAT side of her. To think the first girl I met on school would be the girl I would save…

I stopped walking there and then. "Miku-chan."

She did the same and turned towards me. "Eh? _Na ni?_"

I looked up to her and grasped her hands. I was about to say it, to say how I really felt, to say that I liked her. I could even see Miku blushing as if she knew what I was going to say.

But nothing came out of my mouth. I sighed and let go of her hand. "I… I guess this means we're friends now, right?"

Miku was disappointed, because she punched me the second time. "Geez! And here I was thinking what you would say to me." She sighed. "Of course we're friends. You saved my life after all."

I smiled. It's been a really long time since I've had a friend.

To the surprise of the both of us, I wrapped my arms around her gently. "Thanks," I whispered in her ear.

Miku stood there, shocked. "I should be the one doing this, you dummy," she whispered back. Nevertheless, she returned the hug.

It was the first time I've hugged a girl ever since three years ago.

.

I flopped on my bed after Miku and I bade goodbye and went our own ways.

Three years ago..?

I don't know. I don't remember anymore, honestly.

Right now, I'm living alone in this small house. Just me and my-

"_Onii-chan_!"

Rin came in guns blazing from the door and belly flopped on me.

"Rin! I told you not to- Ow!"

Rin is my younger sister. She's two years younger than me (Len is 16 by the way) and, well, she really loves her Onii-chan. She went with me when I decided to move away from our home, saying that it was boring there.

"_Onii-chan_, I saw you with that pony-tailed _megane_," she said.

"..And?" Crap, did she see us hugging together? See, she's very sensitive when I hang out with girls. I mean, she's always jealous and throws a fit whenever I date someone.

Rin put up a frowny face. "Is she your new girlfriend?"

I moved my hand and rubbed her head. "Geez, Rin, you're too young to be meddling in businesses like-"

"But I'm grown up!" she said. "I'm already 14! I can have boyfriends and all, like you!"

Yes, what she said is true. I had my first girlfriend when I was 14. She kept crying when she found out.

"No, she's just my new friend," I said. "And our neighbor."

Rin brightened at the word. "Neighbor? Yay! I have a new playmate," she said as she got off me and started running off to the door.

"Rin, wait!"

Sigh. I guess Miku would have a little load on her from now on. Rin has been rather bored and lonely so she's actively looking for playmates, no matter who it was be it my classmates or her classmates or someone she found on the internet.

I caught her before she could even touch the front door knob. "You can't go to her house yet, she just came from school! And she's dead tired and traumatized too."

Rin struggled to break free but stopped when she heard the word "traumatized."

"Traumatized? From what?"

I sighed.

**20 minutes later…**

"Ohh… So that's why you were at the hospital these past few days," Rin said. "I'm sorry, I just moved in the other day so I had no idea what was going on around here."

I patted her head. "It's okay. Now come on, I'll cook us some dinner so we can sleep, okay?"

Rin smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>HELLLOOOOOOO!<strong>

***ehem* Sorry for the really long wait, I got cooked up with lots and lots of stuff. Anyway, here's chapter 3!**

**Also, I'd like to let you know that the story will be taking a different direction from what was originally planned. **

**(wonder if I should change the title too. Meh, guess I should)**

**Sooo expect chapter 4 in a week or so.**

**Cya! :3**

**CookieRhyme**


	4. Chapter 4 (?)

May 17th, 2009

"So, where are we going now?" The blond boy asked Miku, who was checking her phone beside him. She lifted her gaze from her phone almost lazily and shrugged, so he continued, "is the amusement park okay for you? We can go for breakfast or something if you want, since you look kind of hungry ..."

As if on cue, Miku's stomach grumbled and she flushed, covering her mouth and nose while Len had to just grin at her cheekily until she whipped around and started screaming insults at him as they walked until everyone on the street started staring so much that he had to drag the fuming girl off to a snug little restaurant.

Miku plopped down on a seat and hid her face behind a menu, muttering furiously under her breath. Len smiled and a pretty waitress gracefully trotted over in her glittery heels, a tray held in her hands and a small notebook peeking out from her apron pocket. Staring into the dark blue eyes of hers, he felt that they had met, somewhere, somehow ...

"Hey, haven't we met -" the waitress batted her eyelashes a little bit and his words were sucked out from his mouth, leaving him speechless and staring at the girl again. At his words Miku looked up from her menu and when she found him staring at the waitress she clicked her tongue impatiently and he snapped back into reality, blinking furiously and kneading his forehead.

"What was I doing?"

Miku scowled a little bit at the waitress when she was busy fishing out something from her pocket and muttered angrily, "staring at her."

"Her? Who?"

She tilted her head towards the direction of the waitress and sent her a sickly sweet smile that both of them - Len and the waitress - knew wasn't sincere. "Yes, yes, we can order now," Miku snapped when the waitress opened her mouth, only to snap it shut tightly at Miku's catty interruption, not speaking a word while the two were ordering and bowed harshly when they had finished, stalking away unhappily.

"You didn't need to be so mean to her, she's just a waitress," Len said reasonably and Miku huffed, crossing her arms with a pout on her lips.

"I don't trust her," she burst out.

"What?"

"I don't trust the waitress," Miku mumbled, glaring at the waitress as she poured some tea into two mugs.

"Why?" Len asked, confused.

"I just have the vibes, you know," She said dismissively, "like the types girlfriends have when someone else seduces their -"

"Are you saying that you're my girlfriend now?"

An awkward silence fell between them, Len smirking and Miku flushing tomato red again. She regained her composure a few moments later and snatched up the menu, smacking Len on the head with it and leaving him wincing with pain.

"No!" She snapped, slamming the menu down onto the table angrily. "It was an -"

"Indication?"

"No! An _example_, don't get so full of yourself, I don't see why any girl would ever date you." The sentence ended up in a huff.

"Hoho," Len laughed dryly. "Really?"

"Merry Christmas," Miku responded, looking away from him and grinning a little bit when he didn't understand.

They didn't even notice the waitress in a corner, staring darkly at them.

* * *

><p>"Wouldn't the amusement park be closed in the morning?" Miku asked curiously, standing on her tiptoes to get a view of the park.<p>

"I can carry you if you're too short," Len offered and earned a punch in the ribs.

"Wouldn't it?" Miku repeated, flexing her fingers. "It's only ten, after all ..."

"No, it will be open," Len choked out, massaging the place where Miku had so painfully punched him. "I think it opens at half-past nine, if my memory serves me. Or at least somewhere around that time."

"Then wouldn't people be swarming around the place by now?" Miku asked, still jumping and hopping around to look at the amusement park in the distance.

"They start coming in at twelve," Len replied. "You sure you don't want me to give you a boost?"

Miku generously gave him another punch in the stomach again, giving up on jumping around and settling with the thought that she would see the amusement park a little while later anyways, while Len continued to groan with pain beside her.

"You don't need to be so violent, you know, you can be like the sweet, nice girl on the train. Yeah, I like that side of you." Len babbled, purposely infuriating her. She frowned and flushed at the same time, yanking on her pigtails irritably but said nothing to his statement.

A few minutes later, they reached the front of the amusement park and sure enough, there weren't a lot of people. Therefore, they got to the top of the line really quickly and got into the park. Len took a careful look around the rather deserted park and said quietly, "I don't think we should play anything at such early hours yet, all of the workers are sleepy and cranky now, see," he pointed at a woman who was dozing off in front of an ice cream stand and snapping at anyone who came to buy ice creams.

"We can sit down and buy something, though," Miku pointed out. "Maybe there is something else we can do, other than playing the games or something?"

"I don't know, let's just -" Len stopped short and peered at a dark and dodgy corner beside the ice cream stand, squinting hard. He was sure that he saw someone there ... it was a girl ... he had seen before. Somewhere, but he had forgotten where.

"Let's what?" Miku asked, apparently not noticing that Len was glaring at the corner now, willing for the girl to reappear again. "Len, what are you doing?"

"Did you see her?"

Miku blinked. "Who her?"

"That girl ... you know ... in that corner ... there."

"I don't see anything."

"Because she disappeared."

Miku eyed him warily, biting on her lip. "I'm positive that there was no one there. It might be one of your hallucinations or something, are you sure that you really saw the girl there?"

Len was about to open his mouth and argue, but at the look on Miku's face he shut his mouth and sighed wearily. "No, actually ... maybe you're right, I might be too tired and dreamt up a girl over there. Sorry, Miku, let's just go find somewhere and sit down."

She nodded, but still stared at him, occasionally tugging at her pigtails or scratching her cheek as if thinking whether Len had really seen a girl at the corner or not.

"What?" He finally asked when Miku had intensely stared at him for a full minute. "Checking me out? Just a few minutes ago you said that no one would ever date me and here you are, staring at me like I'm a handsome model." He paused to think for a bit. "Perhaps I am one. Oh wow, Miku, thanks, you made me realise."

She scowled at him, face bright again, and finally looked away from him. "No, I wasn't checking you out," she defended herself and Len openly rolled his eyes at her. "I was trying to find out whether the girl was the waitress from the restaurant. You were staring at her, too," she shrugged.

"Waitress ...?" Len repeated, frowning. "Which waitress?"

Miku blinked curiously, tilting her head. "You don't remember? You know, the first waitress that came and served us, the one with - oh, I don't know - blue eyes and everything?" She wrung her hands around. "Remember?"

Len stared at her. Then it all came rushing back, starting with the beautiful electric blue eyes. "Oh. Her."

"So ... was the girl you _supposedly _saw her?" Miku asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

"I don't know," said Len truthfully. "When I looked at her she was gone."

Miku pinched the tip of her nose. "Okay then ... Let's go buy something or check out those stores on that side." She pointed to a row of shops.

Len nodded and followed the girl, still looking back to check for the girl in the dark corner.

* * *

><p>"They look cute together."<p>

"I think that they're dating."

"So sweet!"

"Why ... aren't they holding hands?"

"Maybe they're just friends."

"The girl is glaring at us."

"I thought that she was squinting."

"Ohh, she's stomping over."

"The boy's stopping her."

"I'm going to kill them," Miku whispered, as Len hooked his arms around hers and dragging her away from the whispering people.

"We are not dating and we know that, it's their business that they want to butt in," he said, trying to convince the raging girl.

"But they're annoying," she pointed out. "So I can kill them."

"No," he said firmly. "Just cover your ears and ignore them."

A woman skipped over to them curiously. "Are you sure that you aren't a couple?"

It took Len a lot of effort to stop Miku from attacking the woman.

* * *

><p>"Hey, look, there's a crêpe stand," Len said, pointing to a stall where a long line was forming. "You look terrible. Want me to buy some for you?"<p>

Miku looked up wearily, clutching her stomach. "Ugh, roller coasters make me sick," she grumbled, leaning back against the bench. "I think I'm going to barf right here," she mumbled and pretended to retch in front of a little girl and as a result the girl ran away, screaming, to her parents who were standing at a distance.

"Maybe I should stay with you instead," Len added when the girl choked horribly and lay down on the bench, hands still on her stomach and groaning pitifully with pain. "You should have said that you were scared of those things, I wouldn't have forced you onto it then."

Miku's face turned to a sickly shade of green and she clutched her mouth, shooting up from her painful position to sit up, a hand on her stomach and the other on her mouth now. It didn't even look like she was listening anymore. "I'm _really _going to vomit," she said with much difficulty, and her voice came out as a whispery choke. Her face certainly took on a greenish residue now and she stood up, coughing violently. "Bye," Miku whispered, rushing off to the direction of the toilet and shoving everyone in her way.

Len chuckled, looking down at the bench. "She even forgot her bag," he mumbled. He looked up to the crêpe stand, finding out that the line had not grown smaller, instead it had increased in size. He bit on his lip, wondering if he should line up and get a crêpe for Miku; should people who had just finished vomiting eat? Before he could ask a passer-by Miku came rushing to him from the toilet, brushing her skirt and wiping her mouth but still looking very pale. "Welcome back, Miku," Len greeted.

"Do I look ill? Like, as in, pale and green and stuff?" Miku asked wearily, patting down her hair. "I feel awful, you know, we should go home." She suggested, trying to drag him away. Well,_ there goes the crêpes for her, _Len thought, examining her white face.

"Yeah, let's," he said and Miku lit up considerably. "But we can take a ride in the Ferris Wheel or something, we've been here for hours and we can't go home without trying that out. My sister said that it was nice and the view is good too. Or must I go alone?"

Miku flushed red at the thought of both of them going up a Ferris Wheel at seven in the evening, tapping the tips of her fingers together, but nodded a little bit and hissed "It's not like I wanted to anyway" angrily to Len all the way, even as they settled down in the tiny carriage. Eventually she got mystified by the scenery and stopped sulking for a moment, admiring the city. Len admired her instead.

"I've never seen the city from the top before," she whispered, hands on the window and breath creating a mist on the panes. She didn't even notice when Len scooted over to her side and leant over her shoulder, looking outside from behind her. They stayed like that for a while, when the ferris wheel swayed so violently that Miku turned her head and bumped into Len behind her, and their faces were bright red with their foreheads touching and eyes wide, their lips a hair's length away from each other.

"Sorry," Len squeaked, moving away from her. She didn't respond, shoving her face into her hands.

They glared at the scenery for the whole time afterwards.

* * *

><p><strong>I could have made it longer then my father butted in and I can't really delay it for any longer so I just posted it.<strong>

**I still don't know how tsunderes work someone teach me.**

**-Hana**


	5. Chapter 5 (RinLen)

**Before you start reading, I just wanna say sorry for not updating this.**

**I took an unstated and overly long hiatus/break because of online gaming stuff (clan responsibilities and all that) and now that its out of the way (sort of), I finally finished this chaptah.**

**So to make up for those months (or was that a full year?), I decided to extend my chapter far longer than I usually do. So sit back, relax, eat your potato chips and read to your hearts content! :D**

**-Kitty Len/Rhyme**

* * *

><p>When I woke up, it was all blurry.<p>

It took me a moment before I realized that I was lying in my bed; my small, slender little body in the arms of my lovely onii-chan. My clothes are in total disarray that, with just a small tug, my A-cup bra would fall off.

Oh… and my room's all dark. It's just me and my sleeping big brother, all curled up under the blanket like lovers.

"Hey, Len-kun," I poked him. "Nii-san?"

He only answered with sighs.

_What if I AM dead? What if the big brother you're seeing right now isn't real?_

_Then I will..!_

When I hugged Len at that moment, I wanted to deny him those questions. I wanted so desperately for him to be real.

I just couldn't accept a world without my big brother.

So even if he really is dead right now, then while he's still living… while he's still standing in front of me…

I'll show and make him feel how much I truly love him. And, even though I felt a little ashamed…

I did.

Awhile ago…

It was raining hard outside when Len got home. Weird, I thought, shouldn't he be with Miku? Usually, when he's chasing girls like her, he'd go with her to places and do sweet, lovey-dovey stuff. And no, I don't mean going to love hotels to have umm…

A-Anyway, he's not into that stuff… Well, not yet anyway, but given his nature he's going to have his first pretty soon.

"I'm home," I heard his lazy and tired voice as I rushed from my room and went down to greet him.

"Hey, bro." I waved as I saw him kicked off his loafers. "You're home early. I thought you had a date with Miku?"

Len shook his head. The first thing I noticed was that he's drenched from the rain, wet as a chick in water.

The other one was that Len looked tired and sad. Wait, did they..?!

"Len-kun, did you break up with her?!" I said as I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Did she break your heart? That twin tailed, impudent witch! I'm gonna-"

"We didn't break up. Now get your hands off me." Len coldly said as he swatted my arms away.

"Okay…" I frowned. "Well, I'll prepare your bath then. There's some hot chocolate and some coffee in the kitchen." I said as I turned and went for the bathroom.

When we were at the mansion back at our parent's house (miles and miles away from here, like, really far away), we were taught that if you came home drenched in the rain, you automatically had to take a hot bath. It prevents from ending up with a cold the next day. Drinking other hot drinks helps too. Sure we haven't really figured out scientifically why this happens, but so far it works.

I couldn't help but think about him. Why was he like that? If it wasn't Miku, then… Who? Or What?

What happened?

…

I was reading manga when I saw Len-kun walked inside the bathroom. "Thanks, Rin." He said as he closed the door.

Wanting to cheer him up, I closed my manga and scooted close to the door. I put my ear against the door to hear if he had gotten in the tub yet. When I heard splashes, I counted to twenty before bursting inside.

"Oniii-chann~~!"

Len went red almost instantly as I charged for the tub with my clothes on. I wanted to join him in the tub by cannonballing myself in (yes even with my clothes on) just to tease him. Well, I sort of wanted to see him naked (don't ask) but almost everytime he gets a way to counter it.

Like this time.

Len simply stood out of the water and put a hand to my face that covered my eyes, pushing me as I flung my arms around and tried to force his hand out of my eyes. With that simple motion, he stopped me from getting in the tub as well.

"Rin, how long are you going to try seeing me naked?" he asked with a straight face. The thing was, he was doing a really good job of not letting me seeing him naked.

"Uwaah… I hate how you always stop me from doing so, nii-chan," I said as I hopelessly tried to wrench away his hand.

I did see Len smile for a bit, before he turned around and let me go. With his back turned to me, he said "I need some time alone."

I was confused. I've never seen him this sad or confused or down in years. "W-Why? We're siblings, you can talk to me about-"

"Please?" he interrupted with a serious tone.

I sighed and sat against the tub, facing away from him. "I'm not leaving here until you tell me what happened." I said. "I don't want to be ignored and set aside; you know that onii-chan."

Len sighed and sat back in the hot tub. "Okay, then."

There was silence for a long time. I felt like I sat for an hour or so, occasionally telling Len to open up on me, to which he would reply with silence.

It wasn't until the water slowly lost its heat that Len said something. "Miku was busy with school, some teacher asked her to do a favor for her so I decided to leave early."

I tried to turn my head to his direction, but I remembered he was naked so I kept my face up. Finally, he said something. I opened my mouth to say something, but Len-kun was in the middle of telling a story so he really didn't give me the opportunity. I just simply listened and heard him out, like any sibling would do.

Len raised his head. "I was sitting on the bench in the train station, waiting for my train to arrive…"

….

"Looks like it's gonna rain…"

I quickly paid the cashier and sat on the bench, waiting for the train. The guy on the booth said it would arrive within ten minutes, so I decided to buy a drink from a vending machine. I was about to press a button on my drink when someone spoke from behind me.

"Can I also have one?"

I nearly jumped. How did she get there? When I entered the waiting area, there was pretty much no one but me. So how-

"Umm… Sure," I said. I looked at her closely before pushing in a couple of yen coins and bought another one.

She was taller than me, about 5'7 or 5'9. She also had a long, pink hair that extended all the way down to her hips. For her clothes, she wore a summer dress (something that was totally out of the ordinary since it was rainy season).

Best of all, her face was so cute that it reminded me of someone familiar, I just couldn't recall who.

I saw her sitting on the bench looking at me, and I handed her can.

"Thanks," she said as I sat down. I opened a can and took a drink; she did the same after a few moments.

Why was I so friendly to her? It's not usual for me to treat a girl I don't know… Okay, maybe it is usual, but on those occasions it's because I want to flirt a girl.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" she said, her face never getting tired of smiling.

"..What?"

"It's been a long time since we last seen each other like this." She said. She took a sip before putting it down, her long pink hair swaying in the air.

"I…" Is she mistaking me for someone else?

"You really don't remember?" she said, finally looking at me directly in the eyes.

It took me thirty seconds.

"Oh…"

She smiled. "So you do remember."

I was out of words. It was indeed –her-. The first girl I had ever loved. My first kiss. My-

"It's good to see you, Len." She chuckled.

My Luka.

"But you're supposed to be-"

"Dead? Well, I sort of am." She said, putting down her can next to her and scooting closer to me. "But to you, I am very much alive."

To prove this, she took my hand and put it at her cheek. Her soft skin felt lovely.

"..How?"

Her smile suddenly disappeared. "It's a long story. But since we're both waiting for the train, I guess I can tell it on the way."

I never felt so happy seeing her. I could feel my tears falling down my eyes, but as if reading my every movement, she put her hand to my eye. "Don't cry just yet. It hasn't even started." She said rather sadly.

During the time me and Luka waited for the train, as well as when we both got to the train, it felt as if I was in a different dimension with her. True enough, there were no passenger in the train, so we were both clear to express how we really felt to each other.

And within that trip home, I was able to find out the truth.

It shattered me.

I felt the world falling to pieces when she said the truth.

They say the truth hurts. I never figured how something pure and true of a fact could ever hurt someone.

I never thought that truth would hurt me so much.

When I got off the train, it had rained. It's as if the heavens heard me or felt the same way as I did.

Walking home, I bowed my head and cried, the rain making it easy to conceal my sadness and despair.

Luka was right: I should've saved my tears for this moment.

…

"So what was the truth?" Rin asked.

I stood up, making sure she never turns her head (because, yeah, I think you know) and quickly got my towel and wrapped it around me in some sort of a dress.

Rin stood up as well, pulling my arm. "Ne! What was the truth?" she asked, her eyes showing how worried she was.

I didn't budge. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Rin instantly blushed. She then acted like a really shy girl being asked out for the first time. "N-Nii chan, we're t-too young f-for-"

I bopped her head. "I meant just sleep together idiot, not do the adult stuff!"

Rin's blush faded. We had always slept together when we were kids, and people say we were adorable. So she wasn't that surprised when I asked if I could sleep with her. Of course, that slowly faded when we got older. The only reason we would ever sleep together is when we were totally sad or felt so lonely.

"Well, okay then. But tell me the truth first!"

I sighed, going back to serious mode. "I will. Once we sleep."

And with that, she let me go. I took a little peek and saw Rin looking ever so worried at me. I have never seen her that worried in a really, really, really long time.

"Onii-chan…"

**Later…**

I entered Rin's room, and she was standing right in front of me with a determined face. "What?"

"The truth." She said.

I sighed. I bowed my head…

And told her the truth.

_"You're living on a borrowed time." Luka said. "You're long dead, Len. You're not supposed to be living nor even walk the earth."_

Rin gasped. She couldn't even say a single word. "Y…You can't be dead…" she whispered. "You can't die, Len-oniichan!"

"What if I am dead?!" I shouted, despair and sadness consuming my very heart. "What if the big brother you're seeing right now is long gone?!"

"Then I will..!"

She hugged me, her arms gripping me as hard as she could. "I will… make you feel much I loved you…"

My eyes went wide. Rin… loves me?

"Not just as a brother, but as a girl as well…" she said, her head pushing deep to my chest. "I really really love you, Len-kun…"

"Please don't be dead… I can't live without my big brother…"

I slowly wrapped my arms around her. "And I can't live without my lovely little sister." I whispered.

Rin sniffed, her tears starting to roll. "I don't want you to die…" she said.

"Neither do I," I replied, tears starting to form on my eyes. "But… if it's the truth…"

She suddenly pushed herself up and met her lips with mine. We kissed for a brief time before she fell asleep from crying too much. Well, that was just her: when she cries so much she falls asleep.

I carried her to her bed and pulled up the blankets to cover us. Before I even went to sleep, I saw Rin shivering. Was it from the cold? But she pretty much stayed indoors almost all day…

Either way, I decided to solve this I have always solved it when she had a cold.

I took her clothes off (yes, I'm that blunt -.-) and left her with her undies, and then took an additional blanket to cover ourselves. It felt so warm now, well, at least for me.

Keeping my imouto in my arms, I slowly went to sleep, the truth spoken by Luka that rocked my very soul mingling in my mind.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is! :D<strong> **You might be asking "Oh Rhyme-kyun, that can't be just the truth now is it? There's more to it than that, right?" Well too bad, because it IS just the tip of the iceberg :P There's more to it than that simple statement, and that will be explained in the future chapters.  
><strong>

**If Hana would allow me (I'm sure she would lol), I'd make another chapter to explain this "truth" that Len (and now Rin) has learned.**

**'Till the next chapter! (And I promise the next one won't take uberly long ^_^)**


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